In 1958, the Manchester United team was under manager Matt Busby and the team was known as the ‘Busby Babes’ because of their collective young age. The team had a hectic schedule of domestic and European games this time of year. Eager not to miss any games and in an attempt to reduce some travel hardship on the players, the club chartered a plane. After playing their away match against Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup, the team waited to depart. Heavy slush on the runway and a bad mix of fuel caused loss of speed on take off and the plane skidded off the end of the runway into a house. Billy Whelan, a young Irish footballer, like many others on the plane, was a nervous flier. It’s reported that before take-off, he said “This may be death, but I'm ready.”